We’re having a heat wave and simultaneous in the lead-up to summer things are heating up in Santa Fe. Lots to share with you this week!
We’ll start with a little shameless self-promotion. Our own Billie Frank is the new Santa Fe Local Expert for 10best.com, a division of USA Today Travel Media. Billie’s first assignments have been completed and are up on their site. The updated lists are 10 Best Hotels and 10 Best Nightlife spots. The other lists will be updated month by month. On deck for July 10 Best Restaurants, 10 Best Shopping and 10 Best Attractions. With all the wonderful choices here it’s hard to narrow the field down here and rate places. Also, what’s best for one isn’t for anther. Check out the lists and let us know what you think. What are your faves? If you have a photo of a places on one of the 10 best lists, share it on 10 Best’s website. We’d love to see it.
The lobby of the Eldorado Hotel & Spa, now under the ownership of Heritage Hotels & Resorts photo/courtesy Eldorado Hotel
Santa Fe hotel news
A few weeks ago, Tidbits ran the unconfirmed rumor that the Eldorado Hotel & Spa was being sold to Heritage Hotels & Resorts. It’s a done deal! It closed last week. Keeping it local, the new owners led by Heritage’s Jim Long and New Mexico businessman Randy Talbot are all New Mexicans. The local chain owns three other properties in Santa Fe: Hotel St. Francis, Hotel Chimayó de Santa Fe and the Lodge at Santa Fe. This gives them the strongest lodging presence in the city. There’s no word yet on what changes this will bring to the 219 room hotel, the largest in Santa Fe. We’ll all just have to wait and see.
Marc Quiñones the new Executive Chef at The Inn and Spa at Loretto’s Luminaria, photo/courtesy Inn and Spa at Loretto
Santa Fe dining
A bit of trivia: my first real job out of college was in the South Bronx, so it delights me to welcome and old “homey” Chef Marc Quiñones to Santa Fe. This young culinarian, who hadn’t even been born at that time, is the new Executive Chef at the Inn and Spa at Loretto’s restaurant, Luminaria. Prior to that, he was at Bien Shur at Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque. A graduate of the Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale, he cooked in Hawaii, Arizona, and Napa, before landing to New Mexico. Welcome to Santa Fe, Chef Quiñones.
The dining room at the just-opened Georgia, photo Janet Salk courtesy of Georgia
Georgia is on our mind this week. The new restaurant, named for iconic artist Georgia O’Keeffe opened last weekend. Located right next door to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in a building that was once, according to local lore, a Union Army barracks during the Civil War, they will be serving “apres lunch” on the patio from 1:30 to 5pm and dinner, nightly. Executive Chef Bret Sparman, formerly of Luminaria at the Inn and Spa at Loretto, calls his food “clean and simple”. He’ll be using locally grown and produced foods whenever he can. Good luck, Georgia!
Enjoy pre-opera gourmet tailgating with Chef Andrew Cooper photo/courtesy Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado
Chef Andrew Cooper of Terra at Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado will be doing some luxe tailgating at the Santa Fe Opera this summer. The hotel is partnering with the opera to offer exclusive behind-the-scenes tours and epicurean tailgate parties for a unique night at the opera. Your night at the opera begins when your chauffer drops you at the opera house and you are whisked off for a behind-the-scenes backstage tour. You will dine in a private tent. Both the food on the four-course menu and the décor will pay homage to the opera’s theme and country of origin. After the performance, your chauffer will deliver you back to the Encantado for an après opera drink at the Terra Bar
Santa Fe music
The vibrant Santa Fe summer music scene is upon us. First up is Music on the Hill. Their 2014 season of outdoor concerts on the St. John’s College campus begins on Wednesday, June 11th and runs through Wednesday, July 23rd (there will be no concert on July 2nd). Come picnic, play Frisbee and listen to jazz. Concerts start at at 6pm. Parking is limited so take advantage of the free shuttle running every 15 minutes from 5 p.m. to 9 pm between Museum Hill and the concert field. Arrive early and have some pre-concert fun. You can bring a picnic or buy food onsite from Walter Burke Catering. Read more about summer music in Santa Fe.
Rodney Crowell is coming to the Lensic
Americana singer/songwriter Rodney Crowell will be at the Lensic Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, June 17th at 7:30. Tickets $35 and $45, are available at the Lensic box office or online at Tickets Santa Fe. Read the great interview with Crowell.
Santa Fe art and museums
Congratulations to the prestigious Santa Fe Photo Workshops on its 25th anniversary. Here’s to many more!
I“Treasures from the Bog: The Faddan More Psalter”, courtesy New Mexico History Museum
Love archaeology? The Press at the Palace of the Governors will present Treasures from the Bog: The Faddan More Psalter, a talk by Irish scholar John Gillis, on Friday, June 13th at 6pm at the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium, 113 Lincoln Avenue. The talk is based on an amazing find in a peat bog in County Tipperary in the summer of 2006. A rare medieval manuscript was discovered. It has fragments of the Old Testament’s 150 psalms with illuminations and decorated letters. Dr. Gillis’ will talk about the discovery and the challenging task of conserving this find.e The lecture is free. For more information, call (505) 476-5200.
Judy Chicago’s Ehhibition “Heads Up”, photo/courtesy David Richard Gallery
Feminist artist Judy Chicago made a splash in the 1970s with her collaborative art projects. This is a big year for her- she’s celebrating her 75th birthday and 30th year living and working in New Mexico. This Friday, Local Color: Judy Chicago in New Mexico 1984-2014 opens at the New Mexico Art Museum and Heads Up an exhibition featuring her newest body of work opens at the David Richard Gallery on Saturday, June 14th from 2 to 5pm. Work on view includes cast glass, bronze and ceramics. At 3:30pm, Chicago will take part in an talk with Dr. Kathy Battista, a noted feminist scholar and Director of Contemporary Art in Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York. The exhibit runs until Saturday, July 26th.
El Rancho de las Golondrinas celebrates its annual Spring Festival and Children’s Fait, photo/teve Collins
Santa Fe Misc
It’s time for El Rancho de las Golondrinas‘ Annual Spring Festival and Children’s Fair. Now in it’s 43rd year, it will take place on Saturday, June 7th, and Sunday, June 8th, from 10am to 4pm. Volunteers, dressed as Spanish Colonial villagers will demonstrate life in that period. You’ll discover weavers, blacksmiths, bakers, and millers plying their crafts. There will also be traditional music and dance performances. Children will enjoy a range of activities including dressing up like Spanish settlers, riding a mule-drawn wagon, and doing hands-on arts and crafts activities. Our grandsons loved making mini-adobe blocks at the fair a few years back. Admission is $8 for adults; $6 for teens and seniors. Children under 13 are admitted free.
Puye Cliff Dwellings, photo/Steve Collins
Puye Cliff Dwellings, the ancestral home of the Santa Clara Pueblo people will present Earth & Sky, a series of events, over the summer The first one takes place on Saturday, June 14th and Sunday, June 15th from 10am to 4pm. Experience Native American Pueblo culture including dances, traditional pueblo art, bread baking. Champion hoop dancer Nakota Larance will perform both days. The event is free. While there, take a tour of the Puye Cliffs or mesa-top, or a combined tour. Tour rates and information on upcoming Earth & Sky days events are in their website.
If you want to see traditional Pueblo dances, on Friday, June 13th some of the Northern Pueblos will be observing St Anthony’s Feast Day. There are dances at Picuris, San Idlefonso, Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan), Santa Clara, and Taos Pueblos. They will either perform the Comanche or Corn dance. Dances begin around 10am and go to mid-afternoon. As these are spiritual practices they don’t adhere to a time clock. Just go and enjoy the experience. Observe Pueblo etiquette including no picture taking.
Santa Fe Botanical Garden celebrates the Summer Solstice, cphoto/ourtesy Santa fe Botanical Garden
Celebrate the Summer Solstice in the Santa Fe Botanical Garden. The 2nd Annual Gala in the Garden will take place on Saturday, June 21st from 6 to 8:30pm. The event will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and music by Nacha Mendez and the Bert Dalton Jazz Trio. There will also be a live auction which will have some exciting international travel packages up for grabs. Artist Kevin Box will unveil his Master Peace; a sculpture of a thousand cast metal cranes which will become part of his Origami in the Garden show, which runs through October 25th. Tickets to the benefit, $125 per person, are available on their website.
The Auteurs, a series of eight films will be presented by the CCA Cinematheque and St. John’s College Film Institute from Saturday, June 14th at to Monday, August 4th . The series will open with F.W. Murnau’s Oscar-winning silent movie Sunrise with live accompaniment by Hank Troy. Tickets, $8.50 for members, students and seniors, and $9.50 for general admission, are available at the door. Opening night is $12 for all tickets. Information is on the CCA website.
Cowgirl stilt dancing part of SFUAD’s ArtFest i2013, photo/Steve Collins
Santa Fe University of Art and Design will present community workshops on Saturday, July 12th and Monday, July 14th, as part of their summer ArtFest14 program. These workshops are on digital photography and drawing. You can register or get more information on their website.
That’s it for this week’s Tidbits. See you next week. ¡Hasta Luego!
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